Sources of uncertainty in annual forest inventory estimates

Abstract

Although design and estimation aspects of annual forest inventories have begun to receive considerable attention within the forestry and natural resources communities, little attention has been devoted to identifying the sources of uncertainty inherent in these systems or to assessing the impact of those uncertainties on the total uncertainties of inventory estimates. A brief overview of the annual forest inventory system under development for the North Central region is provided, sources of uncertainty within the required components are identified, and their magnitudes and impacts on Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) estimates are discussed.

Parent Publication

• Integrated tools for natural resources inventories in the 21st century

Citation

McRoberts, Ronald E. 2000. Sources of uncertainty in annual forest inventory estimates. In: Hansen, Mark; Burk, Tom, eds. Integrated tools for natural resources inventories in the 21st century. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-212. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 207-213.